Parts of the 911 call made by Jayson Williams' brother on the night of the shooting of a hired limousine driver in 2002 will be allowed into testimony when the former Nets star is retried for reckless manslaughter, a Superior Court judge ruled today.

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerJayson Williams with defense attorney Billy Martin during a hearing at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville.

The ruling by Judge Edward Coleman to include some excerpts of the call transcript as evidence, but exclude others, came amid several decisions on pretrial motions in the case. Coleman also ruled the jury will not be sequestered, despite prosecutors' concerns over extensive publicity, and that a firearms safety expert will be allowed testify.

Williams - dressed in a steel gray suit and with his wife, Tanya, seated directly behind him - leaned forward with his hands clasped in front of him as Coleman read excerpts from the harried 911 call placed by his brother Victor Williams, who summoned assistance as driver Costas "Gus" Christofi lay bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Defense attorneys argued against using much of the 911 call from Feb. 14, 2002, calling it testimonial in nature and that the call included information about "past events." The Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office said the nature of the call was merely to provide information about an ongoing emergency.

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerAssistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven Lember looks over paperwork during a hearing at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville.

Williams, who arrived with little fanfare this morning at the Superior Court in Somerville, is due to be retried for the shooting death of Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002, at Williams' Alexandria Township estate in Hunterdon County. In 2004, a jury convicted Williams of tampering with witnesses and evidence in an effort to make Christofi's death appear a suicide. Williams was acquitted on the charge of aggravated manslaughter but the jury deadlocked on whether Christofi's death amounted to the lesser charge of reckless manslaughter.

But he said Victor Williams' call was "an emergency call to the very end."

Coleman cited lines from the emergency transcript where he thought it was clear the caller was providing information about an ongoing emergency. Other portions - such as where the parties were before the shooting, and voices in the background ordering someone to wipe the gun - deal with past events and should be redacted, the judge said. In those instances, Victor Williams either wasn't there, or the voices belonged to someone other than Williams, Coleman said.

The debate over the 911 call followed Coleman's decision not to sequester the jury. The original 2004 trial was closely followed in the media and drew numerous onlookers and activists to the courthouse.

"These jurors were exposed to all these shenanigans on a daily basis," said Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Katherine Errickson. "They're not robots, judge. These jurors come to the courthouse, they see all these people ... And they're impacted by it."

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerDefense attorney Joseph Hayden speaks during a hearing at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville.

Defense attorney Joseph Hayden, Jr. replied that full or even partial sequestration would intimidate jurors and could create a "self-fulfilling prophecy." Hayden, who disagreed jurors were affected by outside information during the first trial, said sequestration was impractical and has "economic and sociological implications."

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerJudge Edward Coleman listens during a hearing at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville.